86 Arrival of the Bloody Moon

As the people of the human lands awoke, they saw in the sky a strange, some might say disturbing sight. There was a massive red orb that had affixed itself in the sky. Surrounded by blue, it stood out quite conspicuously.

After 400 years, it had finally returned. Once a harbinger of doom, the Bloody Moon had arrived once more. Its coming would signify the beginning of the third and final battle of Divine Will.

With the arrival of the Bloody Moon, the demons would be able to construct their Birth Towers atop the deposits of God's Stone mines and an unending flow of Red Mist would come forth. With their supply of Red Mist being virtually unlimited at those locations, they would be able to amass massive amounts of forces there.

Through the construction of additional towers, the demons would be able to continue to extend their operational range. The loss of Taquila had been a blow to their war efforts, but now with their supply situation resolved they could focus their full might on the city. Humanity would have to brace themselves to withstand the incoming flood of demons.

This would be the battle that humanity has been waiting for. For the past few years the human lands have developed by leaps and bounds. Living conditions had improved and people were living better lives. However, all of humanity's progress up to this point had one goal, to defeat the demons once and for all.

With the arrival of the Bloody Moon, a new wave of propaganda was circulated to stir up the citizen's will to fight. "The demons are coming, fight for your home." "Together, we will triumph." "Soon, humanity will rule the world. Do your part in our conquest."

All sorts of motivational material was plastered everywhere. The citizens were often reminded about the importance of their work and how everyone had a role to play in the war. The common farmer would gather the food to feed the soldiers, the factory worker would make the equipment the soldiers use, everyone had a job.

Rather than being frightened of the Bloody Moon, it was shown as a sign of mankind's imminent victory. News that the demons were coming did not cause anyone to lose hope. Rather, people faced the news of the imminent invasion with determination and strength of will. There was even a sense of optimism, that they would surely win in this fight.

Morale at home was important, but that was not the only thing being prepared. Over the past few years, massive stocks of weaponry and ammunition had been created. Entire warehouses stored enough weapons to equip a massive army. Most important was the ammunition. Without it, the guns would be worthless. The amount stored was massive as war would use up a frightening amount of material.

Even with all of this equipment, there still needed to be people to use it. Army recruitment had been going at full swing for several years even though there was no active war. People joined the army and received training. Then, they would be demobilized and sent back into civilian life where they would be a reserve force. The result was that there was now a massive force of trained men ready to be recalled to service.

A full mobilization began. The soldiers were called up and the weapons were distributed to them. They were readied for deployment. Since the capture of Taquila, the demons had been mostly silent, only emerging if the scouts ventured too close to their cities. During this time, a large network of railways had been built in the human controlled area of the Fertile Plains. With this network in place, soldiers could be deployed anywhere in a short amount of time.

The preparations for war were in place, and it was now time to fight the war.

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Steven and Zero sat together on the couch in Steven's room, with Zero partially leaning on Steven.

"It is finally here", Zero whispered. "The culmination of our work will be shown. We have prepared all these years for this, and now it is finally time to see it all put to use. The war will come once more after 400 years and the fate of our species will be decided."

"We are at a critical juncture", Steven said. "The fate of the world lies in the balance. Will what we have done be enough? I should like to think that it is. But nothing is ever certain. The future will be fraught with peril, but we must meet it head on."

"Now, we can only hope for the best", Zero said.

"If only we had more time." Steven sighed. "Roland and I have only been here for a small amount of time. In just these few years the world has changed much. Still, there is so much more to be done. If only we could have prepared sooner."

"Humans had prepared for this war ever since the last one ended 400 years ago. The church was built for this goal. I have been here for so long, yet I had done so little", Zero said with regret. "So much time, yet so little was accomplished."

Steven wrapped his arm around Zero. "It wasn't your fault. It wasn't anyone's fault. You did the best you could with the information you had available."

Zero closed her eyes. "If only humanity could have advanced sooner, then everything would be different."

"Such a world we have today would be imaginable to those living back then", Steven replied. "Discovery and advancement take time and the only reason so much has been done now is because of knowledge from another world. I am not all that special actually, I have merely stood on the shoulders of giants."

"Well, you certainly are special to me", Zero said.

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In a special realm, a group held a meeting. They were the top commanders of the demons.

The king spoke. "The Bloody Moon has come. The time for the final battle shall begin. The humans shall be wiped from the world. Begin the plan."

"Yes, your Majesty."